Office units for organizing reference cards and supplies



R. S. MICHEL OFFICE UNITS FOR ORGANIZING REFERENCE CARDS AND 'SUPPLIES Filed Dec. 19, 1966 RAYMOND s. MICHEL INVENTOR TT'Y Feb. 18, 1969 R. s. MICHEL. 3, 8,

OFFICE UNITS FOR ORGANIZING REFERENCE CARDS AND SUPPLIES Filed Dec. 19, 1966 Sheet 2 of :5 N3. I F.-

RAYMOND S. MICHEL INVENTOR.

v 2) BY D I v g ATT'Y R. s. MICHEL 3,428,186

OFFICE UNITS FOR ORGANIZING REFERENCE CARDS AND SUPPLIES Feb 18, 1969 Sheet Filad Dec. 19, 1966 RAYMOND s.mcHEL M Q 2 7 n HH IMmHP m T ia-F inn 1 II E I. wul hhuflfl icnhfll O 6 8. III nflunfl l lfl l J M1 m m n m M 0 R E E .w A m m D I l v E w p 0 vs T E F m m 0 n L m L U T E T O S c N S U A B E w E M m ..R 7.,. m P T m D M VINV'ENTOR.

B v ATTY United States Patent 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A combination card file and tray-like container wherein the file is adapted for holding and displaying, for example, I.B.M. cards containing medical records, and the like, for general use by the medical profession in doctors offices, medical clinics and similar facilities, and wherein the tray-like container is compartmented into readily accessible receptacles for holding various accessories such as vacuum tubes and other medical supplies.

The combined card file and container made in accordance with this invention comprises individual end walls held in parallel vertical spaced relation by vertical plates terraced upwardly and rearwardly and removably secured in engagement with the end walls. The divider plates are interconnected at their bottom ends in steplike spaced relation to each other to provide pockets for I.B.M. cards and the like containing medical records. All of the components of the container are individually formed or molded and interfitted into a rigid, unitary, completed assembly without the use of any extraneous fastening elements or adhesives. The combined card file and container made in accordance with the invention enables a doctor to have on hand accessories and supplies, as aforesaid, organized for efiicient convenient selection, any of the supplies, I.B.M. request cards or any other material needed to order any tests desired to accompany any specimen needed through the mail to a regional automated laboratory to perform for the doctor the vast majority of tests he would desire or deem necessary in his daily ofiice practice to obtain the scientific data he desires on his patients.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a card file and compartmented receptacle to meet the desirable purposes above set forth and so constructed :as to interfit with each other by new and novel built-in, self-stabilizing, interlocking means permitting both components to be separably and fixedly connected t provide a rigid, unitary completed assembly without the use of extraneous fastening elements or adhesives of any kind and wherein the wholly inconspicuous interlocking means does not detract from the pleasing appearance of the completed unit.

A further object of importance is to provide a card file of the character described which comp-rises a plurality of divider walls or plates supported by identical end walls in upwardly inclined step-like formation from the front to the rear of the unit and spaced apart by vertically disposed pocket-forming ribs integral with the front face of one plate and in contact with the rear face of the next adjacent plate. By this arrangement the identifying heading of cards within the pockets will be clearly visible for ready reference throughout the length and depth of the file.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of means carried by each plate for locking engagement with the next adjacent plate for maintaining and 3,428,186 Patented Feb. 18, 1969 stabilizing all the plates in proper parallel relation to each other throughout their length.

A still further object is the provision of divider Plates as above described which are identical and therefore capable of production by a single mold and the provision of end walls which are also identical for the same manufacturing purposes.

Although the composite unit is herein shown and descrobed as being made of molded or extruded plastic, it will be readily apparent that its structure is such as to permit manufacture thereof from any suitable material such as cast or stamped metal, or the like, and further designed to permit its manufacture at relatively low cost.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a combination card holder and tray-like container made in accordance with my invention and with fragments broken away for convenience of illustration. Included is an assortment of record cards supported by the holder as shown in broken lines.

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of one of the two end walls of the holder which are identical except for their right and left disposition.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional detail view on an enlarged scale taken approximately along the line 3-3 of FIG- UR-E l.

FIGURES 4 and 5 are similar views taken respectively along the lines.4-4 and 55 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view on an enlarged scale taken along the line 77 of FIG- URE 1 and including a number of record cards carried by the holder.

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary top plan view taken approximately along the line 8-8 of FIGURE 7, and

FIGURE 9 is an elevational view of the front face of an exemplary record card.

The embodiment of the invention herein illustrated is merely by way of example to show one form which the combined unit can take when produced commercially. It will be understood that the unit could readily take other forms, which are not deemed necessary to illustrate herein.

In any event, the illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises two structurally identical end walls, indicated generally by reference numerals 1 and 2, each having a bottom portion defined by parallel vertical edges 3-4 and relieved along its bottom edge as at 5 to provide a foot 6. Molded integrally with and extending outwardly from the edge 4 is a downwardly opening dove tail member 8 for cooperation with a matching dove tail member 9 (FIG. 3) for a purpose to be more fully hereinafter described.

Each end wall tapers upwardly and rearwardly as at 10 from the top of the front edge 4 as shown and provided therealong near its marginal edge with a diagonal row of spaced apart nodules 11 each of which, as best illustrated in FIGURES 7 and 8, is slotted vertically as at 12 and undercut as at 13 to provide opposing shoulders 14. Spaced downwardly from and parallel with the top row 11 is a second diagonal row of nodules 15 which are also slotted as at 11A and undercut as at 13A to match the nodules 11 in the first row. The rows are parallel, as shown, with the nodules and their vertical slots of the top row in vertical alignment with the corresponding nodules and their slots in the bottom row to frictionally and slidably engage divider plates 20 inserted downwardly through the slots in both rows and thus arranged in upward and rearward step-like formation from a front plate 21 supported by the foremost of the nodules 11 and 15. The divider plates are preferably, though not necessarily, provided with openings 22 in the interest of overall light weight construction.

Each divider plate is additionally supported at both of its ends by its bottom edge (FIG. 7) resting upon studs 24 molded integrally with the respective end walls 1-2 and further supported by a forwardly extending flange to provide a card-supporting ledge 25 and a downwardly extending flange 26 engaging with a flange 27 extending rearwardly and upwardly from the top of the bottom portion 28 of a forwardly adjacent divider plate. The bottom portion 28 of said adjacent plate is also flanged forwardly to provide its own card-supporting ledge 30, then downwardly as at 31 for engagement with the rearwardly and upwardly extending flanges 32-33 of the bottom portion 35 of the next adjacent divider plate, and so on down to the foremost plate.

From the foregoing and with particular reference to FIGURES 7 and 8, it will be apparent that all of the divider plates are identical and can be advantageously and economically produced from one mold.

As best shown in FIGURES 1 and 5, each divider plate is provided with parallel, spaced apart, vertically disposed, forwardly extending ribs or division members 35 cooperating with the rear face of adjacent divider plates 20 in providing card pockets or receptacles 36. In addition thereto (FIG. the front face of each plate is provided with a forwardly and downwardly extending hook member 37 engageable with the next forwardly adjacent divider plate. All of the hook members and the division members of their respective divider plates are in alignment with each other as clearly shown in FIG- URES 1 and 6.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that when the end walls 1 and 2 and divider plates 20 are all interconnected, as above pointed out, an ultimate rigidl assembled, self-supporting unitary structure will be provided without the use of any extraneous fastening elements or adhesives of any kind.

As best illustrated in FIGURE 6, the tray-like container indicated generally at 40 comprises a front wall 41. bottom wall 42, end walls 43-44 and divided into receptacles 45 by longitudinal and transverse partition walls indicated respectively at 46 and 47. The bottom wall 42 of the tray is provided with slotted openings 50 also in the interest of light weight construction.

It will be noted in FIGURE 4 that the bottom edge of the front wall 21 is provided with a forwardly extending flange 48 and thereby supported by the rearward edge of the bottom wall 42 of the tray 40. The top edge of this front wall is supported by the lowermost nodules in the end walls 1 and 2 and further stabilized by engagement with the hooks 37 extending forwardly from the first divider wall.

The card shown in FIGURE 9 is exemplary of any of the cards indicated at 55 in FIGURES 1 and 7 bearing the self-explanatory record shown thereon or any other data or medical records as above pointed out.

While I have shown a particular form of embodiment of my invention, I am aware that many minor changes therein will readily suggest themselves to others skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A card file and tray-like container, comprising in combination:

vertical end walls having front and rear edges,

a plurality of divider plates,

means attaching said divider plates to said end walls in rearward spaced relation to each other, said attaching means comprising parallel rows of slotted elements integral with and extending inwardly from said end walls and means subjacent said slotted elements in one of said rows supporting cards held within aligned slots in both of said rows,

divider plate interconnecting means comprising hooklike members carried by one plate in engagement with the top of a next adjacent plate,

means carried by each of said divider plates cooperating with the next adjacent plate to provide card holding pockets,

said tray-like container having a front wall, a bottom wall and end walls,

dove tail members carried by said vertical end walls of the card file wedgingly engaged with matching dove tail members carried by the end walls of said traylike container thereby uniting said container and said card file into a reinforced assembled unit.

2. A card file and tray-like container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said slotted elements are in vertically spaced parallel I'OWs inclined upwardly and rearwardly from the front to the rear of said end Walls of the card file with the slots in one row of said slotted elements in vertical alignment with those in the other row, whereby said divider plates held by said slotted elements provide pockets in step-like arrangement for holding cards readily visible for selective removal.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 308,761 12/1884 Fawkes 40-124 XR 1,640,971 8/ 1927 Widen 211-10 1,739,730 12/1929 Orthwine 211-128 2,153,422 4/1939 Kroman 211-55 3,210,865 10/1965 Muntz 211-55 XR 3,285,424 11/1966 Emery 211-55 FRANCIS K. ZUGEL, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 211-128 

